the war in iraq, opposing unilateral sanctions against iran and making comments seen by some as anti-israel. gay rights advocates are also critical. 14 years ago, hagel called the u.s. ambassador nominee openly aggressively game he has since apologized. >> dangerous to roll the dice on this issue at a critical time where don't ask, don't tell needs to be implemented fully. >> reporter: hagel supporters are describe the vietnam veteran as uniquely qualified during a time of transition at the pentagon. he would oversee the withdrawal of troops from afghanistan and implement some of the deepest cuts in defense spending in years. >> i think chuck will bring some interesting and creative thoughts to a defense establishment which tends to be rather structured. >> reporter: president obama also nominated his counterterrorism adviser, john brennan, to serve as cia director. john brennan was considered for cia director back in 2008 but he withdrew his name when questions came up about whether he had supported controversial interrogation techniques under the bush administration. in washington, i'm da